Birth Injury to Mother Claims

Yes, you can make a claim. If your loved one passed away because of mistakes made during childbirth, it can be hard to know what to do next. We’re here to offer wraparound care, counselling services, and welfare benefits while you claim.

We have experience helping families claim after a loved one died from:

• Severe bleeding – Medical professionals should recognise any bleeding quickly and can inject oxytocin immediately after the birth to reduce the chances of severe bleeding
• Infections – After childbirth, medical professionals should make sure good hygiene standards are maintained to remove any chances of infection
• Pre-eclampsia – High blood pressure during the pregnancy should be recognised and managed to lower the risk of developing eclampsia.

By making a claim, we can help you get support and answers to make this time a little easier. We can help you with:

• Recovering compensation for your loved one’s pain and suffering and to cover financial losses caused by their death
• Representing you at their inquest
• Getting you the answers and apology you deserve from those responsible.

Sustaining an injury during the birth of your child can have a range of physical and psychological effects. If your injury was caused by a medical error, we can get you compensation to help make life a little easier.

Our team of experienced medical negligence lawyers can secure funds to help pay for:

• Private hospital treatment
• Psychological support
• Physiotherapy
• Adaptations to your home or vehicle
• Lost earnings
• Prescription charges
• Travel expenses.

Birth injuries caused by medical negligence can vary in severity, so it’s hard to estimate exactly how much compensation you will get before understanding your circumstances. We will collect evidence to help work out the amount of compensation we think you should receive.

Your midwife and obstetrician have a duty to make sure that your birth goes as smoothly as possible. Injuries sometimes occur naturally during birth, but mistakes by medical staff can lead to avoidable injuries.

Your healthcare provider should be aware of the risks and take steps to prevent injury. Mistakes during birth can include:

• Caesarean sections – A delayed caesarean can cause injuries to other organs, damage to nerves or blood vessels, or perforated intestines (a hole develops in the small intestine).
• Placental abruption – This happens when the placenta becomes detached from the uterus wall before your baby is delivered. It’s essential that medical professionals recognise the signs of this condition early on and monitor you carefully to minimise any risks. In extreme cases, this condition can be fatal for the mother and/or the baby.
• Pre-eclampsia – This condition affects some women during the second half of their pregnancy or shortly after their baby is delivered. The warning signs should be picked up during antenatal appointments, including protein presence in urine and high blood pressure (hypertension). If this condition isn’t treated correctly, blood clotting can occur.
• Anaesthesia – Incorrect doses of anaesthetic can have serious consequences. This can starve the brain of oxygen and cause brain injuries, nerve injuries, and unnecessary pain during the delivery due to consciousness.
• Episiotomies – Medical professionals can decide to make cuts into your perineum and vaginal wall to make your birth easier and to avoid extensive tearing. Unfortunately, this procedure is sometimes performed unnecessarily or incorrectly, leading to pain, bruising, and incontinence.
• Perineal tears – While tears during the birth are common, they can also occur from negligent treatment. It’s essential that all tears are detected and treated correctly. The severity of tears is graded from first to fourth degree, with third- and fourth-degree tears often needing stitches or further surgery. Stitches must be maintained properly by your doctor as these can become infected or heal incorrectly.
• Assisted deliveries – Forceps or a ventouse suction cup can be used to help deliver your baby’s head if your child is in an awkward position. If these procedures aren’t performed correctly, conditions such as perineal tears, urinary/faecal (bowel) incontinence and damage to the uterus/bladder can be caused.

Yes, most of our maternity negligence claims use no win no fee agreements. With a no win no fee arrangement, you’ll have nothing to pay until your claim is successful – at which point, the party responsible for your negligent care will pay most of our fees.

You usually need to claim within three years of the date you sustained a birth injury (including antenatal and during the birth). If you found out at a later date that negligent treatment caused your injuries, you have three years from the date you learned this.

We urge you to  contact us as soon as possible so that we can start looking at the evidence and building your case straight away. If you have any concerns about the time limits for claiming compensation, we can talk through your options in a free initial consultation.